BMW and Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, are being sued by the German climate NGO DUH. The companies are said to be doing too little to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
DUH’s lawyer, Remo Klinger, confirms the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in conversation with Handelsblatt. The NGO also has its sights on oil and gas company Wintershall, while Greenpeace is preparing a case against Volkswagen. According to DUH, the large German car groups are doing too little to reduce their emissions quickly. Earlier this month, legal action was threatened. Because the companies do not want to change course, lawsuits have been started at the regional courts in Munich and Stuttgart, the respective locations of BMW and Mercedes. Volkswagen has until October 29 to comment.
The climate case against Shell here in the Netherlands won by Milieudefensie serves as an example for DUH. “Companies can very well lose such a lawsuit. You saw that at Shell,” says DUH’s lawyer. The court in The Hague ruled in May that Shell must emit 45 percent less CO2 in 2030 than in 2019. It was the first time worldwide that a judge imposed an emission reduction on a large group.
DUH is also placing the lawsuits in parallel with a ruling from Germany’s highest court. It ruled in April that the government should explain more precisely how the 2030 climate targets should be achieved. The car industry is also part of this, so there may still be some problems. DUH seems to allude to this: “Any car that still comes on the market with a fuel engine after 2030 is an obstacle to climate neutrality,” according to the NGO’s lawyer.
Mercedes-Benz regrets the lawsuit according to Handelsblatt and prefers to see a constructive collaboration with DUH ‘outside the courtroom’. According to this newspaper, BMW makes a similar sound.
– Thanks for information from Techzle.nl